Trenton man gets 30 years for crime spree

TRENTON — Jeffrey Garrett was sentenced to 30 years in prison Thursday for a crime spree in 2011 on the day of the Trenton earthquake in 2011.

Garrett, 34, also has to pay more than $380,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to charges relating to two armed bank robberies, carjacking, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

Garrett, 34, robbed the Chase Bank in Hamilton on Nov. 10, 2010, handing the teller a note that said, “I have a gun, give me all the fifty and hundred dollar bills.”

According to court records, Garrett displayed a black handgun before fleeing with the cash. Surveillance cameras revealed clear images of Garrett, and FBI agents determined that Garrett used his own Visa card at the bank’s ATM just moments before the robbery.

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Federal authorities charged Garrett two days later and obtained an arrest warrant, but he remained at large.

Nine months later, on Aug. 23, 2011, Garrett robbed the same bank. To get there, he carjacked a motorist at 5:30 a.m. in Trenton, officials said. He pistol-whipped the victim, and the gun fired, leaving the victim with a serious head wound.

Garrett bound the victim’s hands with cable, threatened his life and locked him in the trunk of the car, officials said.

Garrett arrived at the Hamilton bank in the stolen vehicle around 10 a.m. that day after driving around for hours. Showing a chrome revolver, he demanded the teller give him all the money. When she complied, he asked for more money and threatened to shoot her if she turned any keys at her station. The handgun discharged and the teller was shot in the abdomen, officials said.

Garrett drove off in the stolen car and later abandoned it in a mall parking lot in Moorestown, with the bound carjacking victim still in the trunk. Both victims survived.

Garrett was arrested in Florida on Oct. 17, 2011.

Garrett pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G.Sheridan to four counts in an indictment charging him with two armed bank robberies, carjacking and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.